Adding machine



March 18 '1924. i V 7 1,487,069

J. L. LANDENBERGER' ADDING MACHINE Original Filed March 14. 1921 2'SheeLs-Sheet l March 18 1924. 1,487,069.,

J. L. LANDENBERGER ADDING MACHINE inal Filed March 14. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 18, 1924.

UNITED STATES JOHN L. LANDENBERGER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ADDING MACHINE.

Application filed March 14, 1921, Serial No. 452,379. Renewed July 12, 1922. Serial No. 574,544.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN L. LANDEN- nausea, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented an Adding Machine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to adding machines, the object of the invention being to provide a novel, improved and simplified device whereby computations may e made mechanically and accurately and with great rapidity.

The invention will be more readily understood from the attached drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a face view of the device detached. from the casing;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic section on the line 22, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing two of the superimposed numeral discs in proper relative positions, and illustrating the details of the construction;

Figs. 4 and 5, are respectively face views of the preferred form of numeral disc, reduced in size, and of a modified form of partition Fig. 6 is a view illustrating a form of fastener to replace the eyelet shown in 2 when the partition of Fig. 5 is employ Fig. 7 is a. view in perspective of the casing with the device in place, and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary enlargement of a portion of the device illustrating details of construction.

With reference to the drawings, my device comprises, inthe form illustrated, a face plate 1 and a back plate 1*, which may be made of thin metal, cardboard, celluloid or other suitable material, said plates being in the present instance rectangular in form and having inserted therebetween a series of superimposed discs 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, with a series of suitable battle plates 8, 8, interposed between and separating the respective discs. one from another. The face and back plates and the respective discs and bafiles are secured together in the present instance by a suitable fastener 2 at the center, said fastener being in the form of a short cylinder or eyelet which extends through central apertures in the respective elements and has its ends upset or riveted over at the surfaces of the face and back plates. The said eyelet not only secures the elements tosite corner, as clearly shown by the dotted line, Fig. 1, with the exception of the top baflie which extends only from one corner to the inner edge of the slot 12. The object of these bafile plates is to separate the'dlscs and to provide means for frictionally w taining said discs in a given position under normal conditions, there being sufiicient friction between the discs and the baflle plates to accomplish this result.

The elements, after bein secured together in the manner describe are referably mounted in a suitable casing, said the present instance consistin of an envelope 20, in which the face an back plates and associated elements neatly fit, said onvelope being open at one edge 21 to admit the device, and having an opening 22 in one side thereof to expose the working portions of the face, hereinafter described, to permit operation of the device. The case may vary widely inform, but should be adapted to casing in hold the various parts of the device 1n their proper relative positions.

As clearly illustrated in Fig. 3, each of the said discs 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, 1s perforated with'a series of apertures 9 which in each case are disposed in a circle concentric with the axis of rotation of the discs and at a point slightly within the periphery of the discs, the apertures in each of the discs being so located that the edge of the next smaller and superimposed disc lies substantially at the inner edges of the said a ertures, as indicated in Fig. 3. The iscs 4, 5, 6 and 7, are each provided with a series of notches 10 at the periphery, said notches being spaced apart and extending completelyv around the periphery of the discs.

The disc 3 is, in t e present instance, divided into four quarters, and each quarter section "contains sixteen of the apertures 9, evenly spaced, and representing each an increment of one-sixteenth of an inch. The

disc & also is divided into four quarters, and each quarter contains twelve of the apertures 9, each representi an increment of one inch. The discs 5 an 6 are divided also into four quarters, each uarter eontainin ten of the apertures 9 an each aperture 0 the disc 5 representing one foot, while each of the apertures of the disc 6 represents an increment of ten feet. The disc 7 is divided into halves, each of which contains ten of the apertures 9 representin each an increment of one hundred feet. The apertures of the respective divisions are desi ated by figures marked or otherwise suita ly placed upon the discs opposite the respective apertures, the ures starting at zero at one end of each of t c said divisions, and being numbored in the present instance in a counterclockwise direction, as is clearly shown in In the upper face 1 is a series of segmental slots 11, said slots being disposed to respectively overlie the series of holes 9 in the res ective discs 3, 4, 5 and 6, while a semicircular slot 12, also formed in the said uper face, overlies the series of apertures 9 in the disc 7. Each of the said slots 11 has an extension 13 at their lower ends, which extensions are oflt'set inwardly from the said slots 11, as shown in Figs. 1 and 9, and are arranged respectively to overlie the said recesses 10 in the peri heries of the discs 4, 5, 6 and 7. The said ace 1 has also a slot 14 radially disposed from the center 2, and of sufiicient length to extend over a portion of each of the said discs and to expose figures upon the discs which lie opposite and designate the res tive apertures 9. It will be noted that t e slots 11 each extend over an arc of 90, and that the slots are marked at their edges to correspond with the number and spacing of the apertures 9 in one-quarter division of the discs which they respectively overlie, the said markings being designated by the same figures appearing opposite the corresponding sets of a ertures on the respective discs. The slot 12 is semi-circular and is marked to accord with the a rtures and designations of the respective alves of the disc 7. It is further to be noted that the line of the lower end of the slots 11 and 12 is disposed radially to the center 2 and that the slot 14, also radial to the said center, is disposed at an angle of 90 to the said line of the lower ends of the slots 11 and 12. It will be apparent that with this arrangement the figures appearing under the slot 14 will be the same as those designating the apertures appearing at the lower ends of the slots 11 and 12, with the exception of the top disk 7.

Means is provided for distinguishing the quarter or main divisions of the discs as they appear under the slots 11, and for this purpose the respective sections may be given distinctive colors, or, iii illustrated in the draw ings, the sections may alternate in color, it being only necessary to indicate as the discs are rotated when one section passes from under the lower end of the slots 11 and the next following section appears. It is also desirable to indicate under the slot extensions 13 the completion as described above of the respective main sections of the discs 4, 5 and 6, and this is accomplished by means of suitable indicating marks 25 at the peripheries of the respective discs opposite the respective zero apertures, as shown in Fig. 3, said marks appearing under the slot extensions 13 as the discs are rotated.

In operating the device, the procedure is as follows: At the start of each new problem the machine must be set at zero. This may be accomplished by inserting the point of a pencil or suitable st 1115 in the apertures 9 of the respective dis s which appear under the slots 11 and 12, and rotating the disks until a zero-designated aperture lies in each case at the bottom of the respective slots, only zeros appearing under the total slot 14. For the sake of example, we will suppose now that it is desired to make the following addition: Five feet, six and one-half inches, and one foot, six and three-fourth inches. It is first necessary to register under the total slot the first of these dimensions. In accomplishing this, the procedure is as follows: A pencil or similar sharp pointed instrument is inserted through the outermost slot 11 and into the aperture 9 in the disk 3 which lies opposite the designation on the face of the casing, the pencil being moved in the slot in a clockwise direction and advancing the said aperture 9 which it has engaged to the bottom of the slot. The pencil is then inserted through the next adjacent slot 11 and into the aperture 9 of the disk 4 which lies opposite the marking 6 0n the face of the casing, the pencil again being moved in a clockwise direction to advance this aperture also to the bottom of the slot 11. The same procedure is followed with the disk 5, the pencil being inserted in the aperture 9 lying opposite the figure 5* on the casing, and being advanced to the bottom of the slot. At the end of this operation, there should appear marked up under the total slot 14, five feet, six and one-half inches. In adding to this the one foot, six and three-fourth inches length, the following procedure is followed: The pencil is inserted through the outermost slot into the aperture 9 in the disk 3 which lies opposite the designation 4 on the face 1, and the said aperture being carried in the manner previously described to the bottom of the slot. that the aperture 9 into which the pencil has been inserted lies in a main division of the disk 3 different from the division in It will be noticed in this procedure sub-division to cause which the a erture occu ice the bottom of the slot, an that accor ingl as the said first-named aperture is carri down to the bottom of the slot, the color appearing under the slot at the base thereof changes, thereby indicating the necessity for sliding the pencil point over into the notch 10 in the peri hery of the disk 4 which lies opposite the ottom of the slot 11, and thereafter drawing the pencil down into the extension 13 to advance the said notch to the bottom of said extension. The necessity for this will be understood when it is noted that each main division of the disk 3 corresponds to one sub-division of the disk 4, and that accordingly having rotated the disk 3 so as to complete one full division thereof, it is necessary to advance the disk 4 through one the marking up of this addition in the total column.

The next step is to insert the pencil in the next adjacent slot 11 and into the a rture 9 lying opposite the mark 6 of thiss ot,this a erture t en being advanced to the bottom 0 theslot 11in the usualmanner. Here again it is noted by the changing of the colors under the base of the slot 11 that one main division of the disk 4 has been completed, when it is accordingly necessary in this case also to slide the point of the ncil over into the notch in the disk 5 whic lf lies opposite the bottom of the said slot 11 and to carry this notch to the bottom of the extension 13. The pencil is then inserted throu h the next slot 11 and into the aperture in the disk 5 which lies opposite the indication 1 on the face late adjacent the said slot, said a rture ein advanced to the bottom of t e slot in t e manner described. In this instance, the color appearing under the bottom of the slot 11 does not change, so that it is unnecessary to r eiglster an added advance on the next disc 6. here should now appear under the slot 14, a total of seven feet, one and onefourth inches.

If in advancing any one of the disks 4, 5 or 6, by means of the notches 10 at the peripheries thereof, there a pears under the slot extension 13 one of-t e marks 25, it will be necessary to advance the next higher disk through one sub-division, this bein necessary since the appearance of the sai mark 25 under the extension 13 indicates that one main division of that disk has been passed through and should be noted on the next higher isk, one sub-division of which corlresponds to the main division of the lower dis As shown in Fig. 4, it is preferred to reinforce the central apertures 15 of the disks through which the eyelet passes by means of a suitable reinforcing member of metal or other suitable hard material, this being particularly desirable where the modification illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 is employed.

in diameter toward the top,

Fig. 6 illustrates a fastener 2' of the cotter pin type, which may replace the eyelet 2 illustrated in Fig. 2, this fastener 2 passing through slots formed in the upper and back faces 1 and 1 and being separated at the back in the usual manner to hold it in place. In this case, I prefer to employ 1 artitions of the form illustrated in Fig. 5, t ese partitions being circular in form and havin therein a slit 16 through which the sai fastener passes. The diameter of this apartition, of course, will be limited so as not to interfere with the slots 11 and 12. It will be clear that in this form of the device the disks as formerly will be permitted to turn freely on the fastener as a pivot, whereas the partitioning elements will be held stationary.

It will be clear that although I describe the device as an adding machine, the use of the device need not be limited to the operation of addition, and that furthermore it ma be employed by roper modification wit in the scope of the invention for adding other than feet, inches and fractions, the device being ca able of modification to enable its use wit any system of figures; nor is it necessary to limit the number of disks to the number shown and herein described, since any number of disks may be employed, and the number of main divisions of the respective disks is entirely one of choice. The device may also be used without a casing, although some form of casing has been found desirable, it being only necessary to secure in any suitable manner the face and back plates with the baflle lates to hold them relatively immovable, w ile permitting free rotation of the disks. It is also to be understood that though in the claims a rtures and recesses are specified, t ese terms are to be considered as covering any means whereby the point of a pencil or stylus may take hol of the discs to permitthe latter bein rotated.

Considerable modification both in form and in the disposition of the elements is possible with no departure from the essential features of the invention.

I claim: v

,1. In a machine of the type specified, a

lurality of superimposed discs diminishing in diameter toward the top, each of sai discs having a series of apertures in that portion extending beyond the edge of the overlying disc, and each of said discs overlying the bottom disc having 'a series of recesses at the edge corresponding with its said apertures.

2. In a machine of the type specified, a plurality of superimposed discs diminishing each of sai discs having a series of apertures in that portion extending beyond the ed of the overlying disc, and each of said iscs overlying the bottom disc having a series of re cesses at the edge corresponding with its said apertures, and a cover plate having slots disposed over the apertures and recesses of the respective discs.

3. In a machine of the type specified, a plurality of superimposed discs diminishing in diameter toward the top, each of said discs having a series of apertures in that} portion extending beyond the edge of the overlying disc, and each of said discs overlying the bottom disc having a series of recesses at the edge corresponding with its said apertures, and a cover plate having slots disposed over the apertures, with offset extensions overlying the recesses of the re spective discs.

4. In a machine of the type specified, a plurality of superimposed discs diminishing in diameter toward the top, each of said discs having a series of apertures in thatv portion extending beyond the edge of the overlying disc, and each. of said discs overlying the bottom disc having a series of recesses at the edge corresponding with its said apertures, and a cover plate having slots disposed over the apertures of the respective discs, with ofiset extensions over the recessed edge of the immediate overlying disc.

5. In a machine of the type specified, a plurality of superimposed discs diminishing in diameter toward the top, each of said discs having a series ol apertures in the exposed portion disposed in a circle concentric with the disc, and each of the discs being divided into a plurality of equal main sections, and a cover plate having therein a series of arcuate slots drawn on the circumferences of circles and respectively overlying the series of apertures in the respective discs, said slotin each case being equal in length to one main division of the disc which it overlies.

6. In a machine of the type specified, a plurality of superimposed discs diminishing in diameter toward the top, each of said disks having a series of apertures in the exposed portion disposed in a circle concentric with the disc and being divided into a plurality of equal main sections, the said main sections being divided by said apertures into a plurality of sub-sections, the main section of each disk corresponding to one 1 the subdivisions of the immediate overlying disk, and the sub-divisions of each main division representing a fractional part of the sub-division of the next overlying disk, a cover plate having therein a series of arouate slots drawn on,the, circumferences of ber of divisions corresponding with the subdivisions of the respective disks.

7. In a machine of the type specified, a

.plurality of superimposed disks diminishing in diameter toward the top, each of said disks having a series of evenly spaced aper tures in the exposed portion disposed in a circle concentric with the disk, and each of the disks being divided into a plurality of equal main sections correspondingly sub-dividcd by said apertures, the said disks overlying the bottom disk having extending around the edges thereof series of evenly spaced recesses corresponding in number to the apertures in the respective disks, and a cover plate having therein a series of arcuate slots drawn on the circumference of circles and respectively overlying the series of apertures in the respective disks, said slot in each case being equal in length to one main division of the disk which it overlies and having at its lower end an offset extension overlying the recessed edge of the immediate overlying disk.

8. In a machine of the type specified, a plurality of superimposed disks diminishing in diameter toward the top, each of said disks having a series of evenly spaced apertures in the exposed portion disposed in a circle concentric with the disk, and each of the disks being divided into a plurality of equal main sections correspondingly subdivided by said apertures, the said disks overlying the bottom disk having extending around the edges thereof series of evenly spaced recesses corresponding in number to the apertures in the respective disks, a cover plate having therein a series of arcuate slots drawn on the circumference of circles and respectively overlying the series of apertures in the respective disks. said slot in each case being equal in length to one main division of the disk which it overlies and having at its lower end an ofi'se't extension overlying the recessed edge of the immediate overlying disk, means indicating the points of division between the said main divisions of the respective disks and adapted to appear under the said main slots, and means for indicating the said main divisions of the disks overlying the bottom and underlying the top disk and adapted to appear under the said slot extensions.

JOHN L. LANDENBERGER.

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